Occasionally singers contacting me for lessons confess they were afraid to call me. They take a look at my background and experience and think they aren’t advanced enough to work with me. Well… that’s just not the case.
People who work with me and know me say that I’m highly approachable. I don’t patronize or criticize. My style is to offer lots of suggestions and be supportive. And we can laugh and have fun in-between the coaching.
Singing is a personal thing. Style is a personal thing. And quality is subjective. I don’t judge. I only look for ways to enhance performance and preserve vocal health.
Examples of my students include a 9-year-old auditioning for a school musical, an arts high school student working out bugs in a school song assignment or looking to me for advice on what to sing for her evaluation, pro actors and dancers who need to develop singing and the ‘triple threat’ to have that competitive edge, a retired gentleman who likes to sing like Willie Nelson and songs of the ‘60s, several instrumentalists who want to perfect their singing voices or learn to match pitches vocally, a church choral singer looking to be a better part singer or harmonizer, a college-bound singer who needs to prepare classical, musical theatre, and pop pieces for auditions, and many other people with varying goals and interests. The common thread is their desire to make music with their voices.
For the beginners who I work with, I look for ways to establish a solid foundation and a voice that will serve them for years. And we work to discover a personal style.
I tend to work collegially with singers who have some experience performing in public. That can mean they perform anywhere, from an open mic at the local coffee house, to onstage in a major arena.
Depending upon the singer, I serve as a problem solver, technique builder, theory teacher, or song consultant.
To see what my students think of my teaching, please search Patricia Shanks Voice Studio on Yelp and on Google. And take a look at the additional student comments here on my sister site.
Then give me a call. I can’t wait to talk about your singing!